262 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



Januakv 6, 1898. 



The ]irest-iit Vjeing the height of the 

 cypripedium season these naturally 

 were the predominating flowers, and with 

 such a range of choice it was no easy 

 matter to single those out for special 

 mention here. 



Some Rare Cypripediums. 



C. Leeanum Clinkaberryaniun, which 

 was recentl}' awarded a silver medal at 

 Boston, I was fortunate to see two plants 

 of, one of them, the plant that went to 

 Boston, still with its flower intact and 

 fresh, apparently none the worse for its 

 travels. We have read about quite lately 

 and I noted not long since the fine 

 Leeanum gi.ganteuni, l)ut from henceforth 

 this name will be misleading, for in this 

 silver medalist we have a larger and 

 finer variety still. It has a dorsal sepal of 

 innnense size, nearly uniform in width 

 and depth, measuring nearly three inches 

 each way. There is a large area of the 

 purest white; the base is light green, 

 slightly brown spotted, the spotting con- 

 tinued into the white portion and becom- 

 ing a mauve pur]5le. The base of the 

 dorsal sepal extending below the jietals 

 and showing little disposition to recurve, 

 gives a concentration and distinctive 

 massiveness to the flower, a feature pecul- 

 iar to itself. The petals are fully half an 

 inch liroad, gracefully undulated on their 

 upper edges; in color light greenish-yel- 

 low with faint brown shading and prettily 

 spotteil. The jiouch is prominent, of a 

 polished brown in front, its two lobes 

 projecting inward towards the petals and 

 measuring about one and one-half inches 

 across. It is only making a statement ot 

 fact to declare this undoubtedly the 

 finest form of Leeanum that has yet ap- 

 peared, and of American origin, too. 



Next to attract notice was the fine 

 plant of C. insigne Sander;f. the same as 

 was exhibited at the Astoria show in 

 New York in November and bearing 

 three flowers. Detailed description is 

 superfluous for this practically spotless 

 gem and to see it is to covet it, but it 

 will not be a market "cyp" just yet. 

 Hardly less beautiful was C. insigne Ern- 

 esti, a plant of which bore six fresh 

 flowers. This has more of the incidental 

 spotting but the color spots are subdued 

 in tint, plainly manifest yet appearing 

 almost faded out. .\nother noble form is 

 insigne Wellsiana, having one of the 

 largest flowers of any of the insigne 

 type, with a large area of the purest 

 white in its dorsal sepal, the petals and 

 pouch 3-ellow, suffused with brown in 

 light reticulations free from spots; in 

 short a giant flower of great beauty, 

 borne loftily on an immense stem eight- 

 een inches in length. 



■ C. Germanj-anuni represents a lovely 

 cross between villosum and birsutissi- 

 mum with the characteristics of its hir- 

 sute parent strongly marked. The dor- 

 sal sepal is a polished brown and black 

 spotted and has a well defined light 

 green margin. The petals are prettily 

 spotted and distinctly colored, their up- 

 per or superior portion being a pale red- 

 dish tint, a prominent midrib dividing 

 the inferior portion which is yellowisli 

 green, but at their apices they are of a 

 clear, distinct unspotted mauve purple, 

 hue. The pouch is peculiarly hairy 



Large floufered Cyclamen in gilt Basket, dressed with red Ribbon. 

 CHRISTMAS PLANTS IN THE NEW YORK STORES, 



about its aperture, while a prominent 

 green boss in the center of the staminode 

 catches theeje quaintly. 



C. Haynoldianum was represented by 

 a grand plant bearing several flower 

 spikes, one having four flowers upon it 

 and another three, with sufficient stem 

 growth between each for the flowers to 

 display themselves individually. This is 

 a true species, coming from the Philip- 

 pine islands. The flowers are large and 

 showy, having graceful deflexed petals 

 three inches or more in length, broaden- 

 ing towards their tips and marked with 

 large brown blotches on a greenish yel- 

 low ground. The dorsal sepal is similar- 

 ly blotched at its base, but is white with 

 pink shading in its upper part. 



In C. Thaj'erianum we have another 

 grand hybrid from Boxalli atratum and 

 Lawrenceanum, strongly colored in deep 

 rich tones, heavy spotting characterizing 

 sepals and petals, while its handsome 

 pouch is stained in light violet purple. 



C. picturatum, a cross from Spicerianum 

 and superbiens, shows a trait of its first 

 named parent in the white dorsal sepal 

 which, however, is marked with vertical 

 lines of light purple. The petals droop 

 prettily, are greenish yellow flushed with 

 a faint purple tinge and minutely dotted, 

 the pouch dull reddish lirown. 



C. radiosum, al.so from Spicerianum 

 with Lawrenceanum as its second parent, 

 shows us a dorsal sepal of most beautiful 

 coloring, and graceful curvature. In its 

 rich green base there are conspicuous 

 lines of darker green which radiate verti- 

 cally and as they pass into the white 

 ground color, become rich mauve purple 

 forming bright veins about a dozen in 

 number disposed as parallel lines, run- 

 ning from top to bottom. The petals 

 and pouch are a harmon}- of neutral 

 tints in soft green and light brown. 



C. callosum, a Siamese species, was 

 noted in a fine form, with dorsal sepal 

 projected forward in a half hooded man- 



